Port strike union boss rails against EZPass, self-checkout: 'Machines got to stop'

The union leader behind the ongoing dockworkers' strike in the U.S. is not just against automation technology at America's ports.

International Longshoreman's Association (ILA) President Harold Daggett warned in a recent interview that machines are taking too many people's jobs, and pointed to automated toll booths and self-checkout machines as examples.

In an interview posted on ILA's YouTube channel a month ago, Daggett said he has been fighting automation for years because machines replace workers.

"Take EZPass," Daggett said, referring to the electronic toll system that allows drivers the ability to pay tolls without stopping their vehicles to pay. "The first time they come out with EZPass, one lane of cars were going through, and everybody's sitting in their car and go, 'What? What's that all about? I'm gonna get one of them.'"

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"Today, all those union jobs are gone, and it's all EZPass," the ILA president continued. "People don't realize it. Everybody's got three cars. Everybody got an easy pass on the window, and they go through like it's nothing, and they get billed in the mail. They didn't care about that union worker working in the booth."

Daggett then railed against self-checkout machines, and suggested federal lawmakers need to take action to stop the trend of automated technologies.

"You go in a store today, it's self-checking — they don't need anybody to check out," Daggett said. "Someone has to get into Congress and say, ‘Whoa. Time out. This world is going too fast for us. Machines got to stop.’"

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The ILA strike has left dozens of U.S. ports on the East and Gulf coasts at a standstill for days, halting trade at the hubs that collectively handle about half of U.S. imports as the union fights for higher pay and protection from automation in negotiations for a new contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents port employers.

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Since entering the national spotlight, Daggett has garnered scrutiny from critics over his pay package and luxury lifestyle.

Filings show that the ILA leader was paid more than $900,000 in salary last year.